Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas Awareness Tour sponsored* by Jeanne Walker Harvey
The Children’s Book Review
Join us on this virtual book tour for Jeanne Walker Harvey’s Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas (Available February 22, 2022)—a picture book perfect for Women’s History Month and Black History Month.
In this stunning celebration of art and imagination, Jeanne Walker Harvey and Loveis Wise tell the incredible and inspiring true story of Alma Thomas, the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York City and the first Black woman to have her work chosen for the White House collection.
The text achieves a fine balance of evocative lyricism and straightforward exposition. Wise’s vibrant, eye-catching illustrations contain echoes of Thomas’ signature abstract style, with its colorful mosaic-like patterns and tessellated brush strokes. Uplifting with hope and ablaze with joyous colors!
Kirkus Reviews
To learn more, follow along on the virtual book tour and enter the giveaway below for the chance to win one of three class sets of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas! Be sure to download the gorgeous Educators’ Guide and Activity Kit, too—you’ll find them both below.
Ablaze with Color Tour Dates
| Saturday, January 15, 2022 The Children’s Book Review A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Tuesday, January 18, 2022 Some the Wiser A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Wednesday, January 19, 2022 Barbara Ann Mojica’s Blog A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Thursday, January 20, 2022 Twirling Book Princess A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Friday, January 21, 2022 Lisa’s Reading A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Saturday, January 22, 2022 Glass of Wine, Glass of Milk A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Tuesday, January 25, 2022 Heart to Heart A book giveaway of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Wednesday, January 26, 2022 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Thursday, January 27, 2022 Life Is What It’s Called A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Friday, January 28, 2022 Books Are Magic Too A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Saturday, January 29, 2022 The Momma Spot A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Tuesday, February 1, 2022 Writer with Wanderlust A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Wednesday, February 2, 2022 Me Two Books A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Thursday, February 3, 2022 icefairy’s Treasure Chest A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
| Friday, February 4, 2022 BookShelfMomma A book review of Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas |
Ablaze with Color Book Giveaway
Ablaze with Color: Book GiveawayHow to Enter
- Fill out the required fields in the form above. It may take a moment to load.
- You can also gain daily bonus entries.
- The giveaway begins January 15, 2021, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends February 15, 2021, at 11:59 P.M. MT.
- The Giveaway is only open to legal residents of the United States and is void where prohibited by law.
- Full Terms & Conditions above.
About the Book
Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas
Written by Jeanne Walker Harvey
Illustrated by Loveis Wise
Ages 4-8 | 40 Pages
Publisher: HarperCollins | ISBN-13: 9780063021891
Publisher’s Synopsis: Celebrate the life-changing power of art in this inspiring and stunningly illustrated picture book biography of American artist Alma Thomas.
Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most preeminent painters of the 20th century. Told from the point of view of young Alma Thomas, readers can follow along as she grows into her discovery of the life-changing power of art.
As a child in Georgia, Alma Thomas loved to spend time outside, soaking up the colors around her. And her parents filled their home with color and creativity despite the racial injustices they faced. After the family moved to Washington DC, Alma shared her passion for art by teaching children. When she was almost seventy years old, she focused on her own artwork, inspired by nature and space travel.
In this celebration of art and the power of imagination, Jeanne Walker Harvey and Loveis Wise tell the incredible true story of Alma Thomas, the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York City and to have her work chosen for the White House collection. With her bold and vibrant abstract paintings, Alma set the world ablaze with color.
Ablaze with Color includes extensive backmatter with photos, an author’s and illustrator’s note, a timeline, and a list of sources and resources, which will be a great tool for parents, educators, and librarians. Perfect for Women’s History Month and Black History Month units alongside such favorites as Malala’s Magic Pencil, Hidden Figures, and Mae Among the Stars.
Buy the Book
About the Author
Jeanne Walker Harvey has been a longtime docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Just like Alma Thomas, Jeanne believes that art brings us joy. Her other picture books include Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines and My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey. Jeanne studied literature and psychology at Stanford University. She lives in Northern California.
Visit her online at www.jeanneharvey.com.
About the Illustrator
Loveis Wise is an illustrator and designer from Washington, DC. They are currently based in Los Angeles and their work often speaks to themes of joy and liberation. Their work can be found through the New Yorker, Google, Adobe, and the New York Times.
You can find them online at www.loveiswise.com.
Thanks for following along with us on the Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas awareness tour!
28 Comments
Letting kids express themselves through art is a gift for both the artist and those who look at the masterpieces. This story looks welcoming and like having a hug in all colors.
This would be great for my grand kids!
I would love to win this, I have a 4 year old grandson, a new baby on the way and I want them to learn everything they can, and having books to help that is a blessing.
What a mesmerizing picture book! I’d love to share with the kids at my community library.
This book would be wonderful for my sons classroom.
keeping fingers crossed. Im ready for a new book for my grands.
my grandkids would love this book
I am excited to add this book to our class library. I am working to include more artists in the biography section and to create a library that is more inclusive.
My grand kids would love this book!
My daughter in Boston is a graphic artist and her 2 boys would enjoy the book, the 9 year old helping read to the 3 year old.
Using what we know or how we spent our time , usually make the most of our stories. We should write about what we know firsthand.
I would love to win this for my grandsons class at school!
Being a former teacher in Ca and now in Iowa and tudoring children it would be great to have a set of these books in my bookshelf! They would so enjoy and so would the family grandkids etc…. peggy clayton
Keeping my fingers crossed! Such beauty, and I want to teach my grandkids to have an imagination and love all things.
This would be really nice for our pre-K class.
All of our wonderful students within our school district would truly benefit from cultural literature additions in the classrooms which help to diversify the resources available outside the curriculum
This would be wonderful for my son’s 2nd grade class.
This would be a good book for all kids but to offer it for a class room is really special. Kids love books and this would be good
I have a friend that is a teacher and her students would really love these books
I love this idea for a school. My sons would appreciate it very much.
this looks like a book that would be good for my great niece
I have a friend that is a teacher and her school would love to have these books
this would be a great book for all kids
this is a book that zay would learn from
schools always love to receive books because is never enough in the budget.
this is a good book for kids
what a beautiful and inspiring book to give my 9 niece who is an artist herself .
any teacher would be proud to get this in her classroom